Forest and Stream 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



Terms, |4 a Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. ) 



Six Months, $2. f 



NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 28, 1886. 



J VOL. XXVII.-No. 18. 



I Nos. 39 & 40 Park Row, New York. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 

 The Forest and Stream is the recognized medium of entertain- 

 ment, instruction and information between American sportsmen. 

 Communications on the subject to which its pages are devoted are 

 respectfully invited. Anonymous communications will not be re- 

 garded. No name will be published except with writer's consent. 

 The Editors are not responsible for the views of correspondents. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 

 Only advertisements of an approved character inserted. Inside 

 pages, nonpareil type, 35 cents per line. Special rates for three, six, 

 and twelve months. Eight words to the line, twelve lines to one 

 inch. Advertisements should be sent in by Saturday previous to 

 issue in which they are to be Inserted. Transient advertisements 

 must invariably be accompanied by tlie money or they will not be 

 inserted. Reading notices $1.00 per lino. 



SUBSCRIPTIONS 

 May begin at any time. Subscription price, $4 per year; $2 for six 

 months; to a club of three annual subscribers, three copies for $10; 

 five copies for $16. Remit by express money-order, registered letter, 

 money-order, or draft, payable to tlie Forest and Stream Publishing 

 Company. The paper may be olitained of newsdealers throughout 

 the United States, Canadas and Great Britain. For sale by Davies 

 & Co., No. 1 Finch Lane, Cornhill, London. General subscription 

 agents for Great Britain, jMessrs. Da^^es & Co., and Messrs. Samp- 

 son Low, Marston, Searles and Riving1;on, 188 Fleet street, London, 

 Eng. Foreign subscription price. $5 per year; $2.50 for six months. 

 Address aU commniiications, 



Forest and Stream Publisliing Co. 

 NOS. 39 AND 40 Park Row. New Yoi«k City. 



CONTENTS. 



Editorial. 



A Plea for Outdoor Life. 



The A. O. U. Meeting. 



Rod and Reel Association. 

 The Sportsman Tourist. 



The Great Roseau Swamp. 



Travels in Boon Gah Arrah- 

 biggee. 

 Naturat. History. 



Those Maine Moose, 



Items from Georgia. 



Sliore Bird Nomenclature. 

 Game Bag and (rUN. 



Cottonwood Lake. 



Canada Back Lakes. . 



Quail in Sotith f iarolina. 



First Lessons.— I. 



Newfoundland Caribou Hunt- 

 ing. 



Adirondack Game. 

 A Simple Rifle Rest. 

 Ohio Convention of Sportsmen 

 Game Preser-^-nng in ]3ritain. 

 Sea and Rn^BR Fishing. 

 Alaskan Trout. 

 Antiquity of the Fishing Reel. 



Sea and Ritbr Fishing. 

 Tliree Fisues. 



FiSHCULTURE. 



The Kennel. 



Irish Setter Field Trials. 



Western Trials. 



Philadelphia Club Trials. 



East crn Field Trials. 



Kennel T^Ianagement. 



Kennel Note>^. 

 Rifle and Trap Shooting. 



Proposed International Match 



Muzzle vs. Breech. 



Range and Gallery. 



Revolver Shooting. 



The Trap. 

 Yachting. 



Cruise of the Coot.— xxix. 



Construction of Racing Yaclits 

 Canoeing. 



Quaker City C. C. 



American Catioe Clubs. 



The A. C. A. Divisions. 



Toronto C. C. Record. 



The Association and the Clubs. 

 Answers to Correspondents. 



THE ROD AND REEL ASSOCIATION. 



THE change in the time of holding the tournament, 

 from fall to spring, is one that has been urged by 

 many members for the past year or two, and the experi- 

 ment is certainly Avorth the trial. The Association is on 

 a good footing financially and no doubt the next meeting 

 will be a good one. It has been proposed to hold it in 

 Prospect Park, Brooklyn, but the jilace has not been de- 

 cided upon at present, nor will it be until Jan. 1, when 

 the new officers may call a meeting. As Harlem Mere 

 has been a successful and popular place we see no reason 

 for a change, and it is well known, tliat while residents 

 of Brooklyn freely go to New York to witness exhibitions, 

 it is difficult to induce New Yorkers to cross the river for 

 such purposes. 



The Association has done a great deal of good in show- 

 ing to anglers what is excellent in the different methods 

 of handling the fly, and in educating the public in the 

 rudiments of fly-casting, and yet there ha^-e been croakers 

 who see no good in the tournaments, or who think that 

 they should be actual fishing contests in which the man 

 who took the most fish should be the victor. As well de- 

 cry practice with the rifle at Creedmoor and demand that 

 a test in hunting be substituted. Fly-casting tournaments 

 are of the same natiu-e as target j)ractice, and as in the 

 latter it is not necessary that the most skillful marksman 

 should ever have seen a deer, it is equally unnecessary 

 that the best fly-caster should have killed a trout. Ex- 

 cellence in the use of the weapon is all that can be con- 

 sidered in a contest of skill, and work in the field or on 

 the stream is enthely another branch. The man who can 

 cast a fly the greatest distance, and in another trial for 

 delicacy and accuracy comes out ahead, may lack many 

 qualifications which go to make an angler, but he has 

 three of them, and the only three which can be demon- 

 strated before judges. Angling contests will not become 

 popular in this coimtry, but fly-casting tournaments have 

 met with favor. 



It has several times been suggested that some lake or 

 stream containing fish should be used for the meeting, 

 but the presence of fish would annoy a contestant if one 

 should strike when retrieving, and we do not believe that 



a dozen members could be got together at Greenwood 

 Lake or elsewhere outside the parks of the cities. 



At some of the meetings it has been proposed to make 

 the Association a social chib, and no doubt this would be a 

 desirable thing to do, but it would necessitate an increase 

 of annual dues for membership from three dollars to one 

 hundred, at least, as rooms would be a necessity. As it 

 stands, the National Rod and Reel Association is doing 

 well, and has a career of usefulness before it. Its mem- 

 bers are satisfied with its condition and its proceedings, 

 and most, if not all, carping at it comes from persons 

 outside its roll of membership. 



THE A. O. U. MEETING. 



THE meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union, 

 held last week in Washington, was not character- 

 ized by any important action looking to other than the 

 development of the several branches of its work aheady 

 in progress. The officers elected for the ensuing year are 

 as follows: President, Mx. J. A. Allen; Vice-Presidents, 

 Dr. E. Coues and Mr. Robert Ridgway; Secretary, Dr. C. 

 Hart Merriam; Treasurer, Mr. Chas. B. Cory; additional 

 members of the Council, Prof. S. F. Baird, Mr. Geo. N. 

 LawT-ence, Mr. William Brewster, Mr. Montague Cham- 

 berlain, Ml-. H. W. Henshawe; Editorial Staff of the Auk, 

 Mx. J. A. Allen; Associate Editors, Dr. Coues and Messrs. 

 Ridgway, Brewster and Chamberlain; Committee on the 

 Migration and Geographical Distribution of Birds — Dr. C. 

 H. Merriam, chairman; Messrs. J. A. Allen, L. Belding, 



A. P. Chadbourne, M. Chamberlain, Dr. A. K. Fisher, Mr. 

 Thomas Mcllwraith, Dr. Edgar A. Mearns, Dr. J, C. Mer- 

 rill, Mr. Robert Ridgway and Dr. J. M. Wheaton; Com- 

 mittee on Protection of North American Birds— Mr. G. 



B. Sennett, chairman; Mr. E. P. Bicknell, secretary; Mr. 

 W. Ductcher, treasmrer; Messrs. J. A. Allen, William 

 Brewster, M. Chamberlain, L. S. Foster, N. S. Goss, Drs. 

 J. B. Holder and Geo. BirdGrinneU; Committee on Avian 

 Anatomy, Drs. E. Coues and R. W. Shufeldt. 



It was resolved to incorporate the Union, and a com- 

 mittee was appointed to draw up an act of incorporation 

 and to draft a new constitution. The Committee on 

 Migration reported progress, and some interesting ex- 

 tracts from its reports were read, treating of the move- 

 ments of birds, and especially of the effect on the 

 migrants of electric light towers in. certain localities. As 

 stated in our last issue, an interesting and full report was 

 read by Mr. G. B. Sennett, Chairman, on the work of the 

 Committee on Bu-d Protection. It was determined to 

 hold the next annual meeting October 10, at Boston, 

 Mass. , 



A PLEA FOR OUTDOOR LIFE. 



ON the occasion of a national convention at Atlanta, 

 Ga., the other day, the Rev. Dr. Tucker, of Georgia, 

 made a speech which contained this j)lea for outdoor ex- 

 ercise and "communion with nature:" 



* * * Let him have the benefit and the blessing, part of the 

 day at least, of outdoor life. Let God's beautiful sky spread its 

 canopy above him; let sunlight gladden him; let the breezes of 

 heaven fan him; * * * let God's zephyrs kiss him; * * * let 

 the breath of the morning refresh him; let the sparkling dew- 

 drops dance before him; let the fragrance of the blossoms and of 

 tlie fields and of the woods regale him; let him hear the rustling 

 of the leaves, the grand anthem of the pines, the purling of the 

 brooks, the chirping of the birds, and all the music with which 

 nature fills the atmosphere of earth. 



Beautiful sentiments. The Doctor need only have 

 added: "Give him a gun or rifle to entice him into field 

 and forest, or a fishing pole to lead him beside murmm:- 

 ing brooklets." Unhappily, the individual for whom the 

 eloquent clergyman was pleading the enjoyment of out- 

 door hfe has no special taste for angling, and it really 

 would not do to give him gun or rifle. The Doctor was 

 addressing the National Prison Association, and was just 

 then discussing the best disposition to be made of Georgia 

 convicts. When the Doctor rhapsodized about the breath 

 of the morning dew drops, fragrance of fields and woods, 

 grand anthems of i)ines and the music of nature, he really 

 meant to put the convict in a chain-gang at hard labor 

 out-of-doors, to hedge him about with stockades, post 

 sentiies to watch him, and loose the bloodhounds on his 

 track if he attempted to escape. In plain words, the 

 Doctor delivered himself of a burden of bathos. There 

 was never a more utterly ridiculous plea for outdoor life, 

 we question if ever a serious speech on a serious subject 

 before a serious body of men in which "the beauties of 

 nature" were made to do duty in more gruesome mode. 



It would be interesting to know w-hether the orator who 

 made this plea for outdoor life has ever investigated the 

 actual condition of affairs in a Georgia convict camp. 



Startling Hunting Stories.— November is the season 

 at which wonderful hunting stories appear in the news- 

 papers. This year these tales have to do largely with 

 bears, and in the rural districts the squirrel and quail 

 hunters seem to find it quite a common thing to slay 

 bruin with their charges of number six or eight. We 

 have known of perhaps a dozen cases in which deer have 

 been brought down by men who were shooting quail or 

 snipe, but that a bear should fall before these tiny pellets 

 requires a favorable combination of cu-cumstances not 

 hkely often to occm-. The thing is possible enough, but 

 has it ever really happened that a bear w-as killed with a 

 charge of quail shot? 



Adirondack Deer.— We are informed by a gentleman 

 who is well acquainted with the region, that the past 

 season has been a very hard one on the deer of certain 

 portions of the Adirondacks. The "three-deer" clause of 

 the present law is very unpopular, and the provision 

 which closes the season Nov. 1 is still more so. It is said 

 that more deer were illegally killed last season in the 

 northern counties of the State than in any season for five 

 years back. These were killed mainly in June and 

 July. Complamt is made that the game warden was 

 unable to take measures to watch all the territory over 

 which he had jurisdiction, and that he accomplished very 

 little. Most of the deer illegally killed are said to have 

 been shot before a jack. 



Alaskan Trout. — Special attention is invited to Capt. 

 Beardslee's letter on this topic, not chiefly because of the 

 interest which attaches to the point at issue, but on ac- 

 count of the admirable spirit that pervades the commu- 

 nication. It is a practical and happy demonstration of 

 the principle, too often obscured in newspaper discus- 

 sions, that tv/o gentlemen may differ as to their experi- 

 ence or express diverse views without one calling the 

 other a gorilla or intimating that his paternal grand-parent 

 was hung for arson. For its exemplification of amenities 

 such as might characterize all newspaper controversy, 

 "Piseco's" letter should have careful study. 



Colorado Game. — The reports printed in our last issue 

 of the outrageous slaughter of large game by Colorado 

 market-hunters may well receive attention from all who 

 are interested in preserving the species from extinction in 

 the State. Prompt action must be taken to cut off the mar- 

 keting of game. There is no alternative. If unchecked, 

 market-hunters will make away with the last elk and the 

 last deer in Colorado's parks. The citizens of that State 

 may well follow the sensible and public-spirited example 

 of Maine in conserving for the future the natural supply 

 of large game. We are advised that this matter will be 

 given the attention it deserves. 



The American Kennel Register.— With the Novem- 

 ber issue the number of pedigrees recorded in the Register 

 was brought up to 4311. This is a mimber which speaks 

 equally well for the Register and for the increasing sup- 

 ply of well-bred dogs in America. The exacting nature 

 of editorial duties connected with such a record can be 

 comprehended only by one who has had actual exper- 

 ience, and we are disposed to commend the conductors of 

 the Register on this score quite as much as upon its actual 

 success as a journalistic enterprise. The public may 

 safely be ti-usted to sustain such a useful publication, as 

 indeed it is doing. 



"Nessmuk's" Poems. — The subscription blank for 

 "Nessmuk's" volume of poetry is given in our advertising 

 pages. The poems printed in the Forest and Stream 

 have been favorably commented upon in Enp-land, and 

 we have begun to receive subscriptions from across the 

 water. An artotype cabinet-size portrait of the author 

 will give added value to the book. 



Pet Bears will grow in favor as popular fads now that 

 the xn-oprietor of the Cleveland, O., pet brute that mani- 

 fested a fatal propensity to devour little girls has come 

 out of court with a clean bill of health. 



Antiquity op the Reel.— Mr. A. N. Cheney , in a note 

 elsewhere, calls attention to evidence coming from Japan 

 that the angling reel was in use in that land in the 

 eleventh century. 



• 



